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 enlarge | From: Konami
Category: Video Games
Buy Used: $18.99
New (19) Used (27) Collectible (1) from $18.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  97 reviews
Sales Rank: 5344
Platform: Playstation2
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Age: 12 - 20 years
Operating System: Playstation 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.7
MPN: 20045
UPC: 083717200451
EAN: 0083717200451
ASIN: B00006LEMK
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: disc in excellent condition, cover has minor wear. NO MANUAL.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Best rpg ever up there with final fantasy April 8, 2007
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
this is a great game if you like the suikoden and it have all new game plays and there are charaters from part one and part two
Another feather in this series' cap. April 2, 2007
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is another great one from Konami. I'll keep this review within the parameters for a game of it's time, and not present date. If you're an rpg fan in general this one is good, and if you're a Suikoden fan since the start, this one is a must buy.
Graphics - For it's time, the graphics are quite good. The characters are all sort of stubby, but after the first couple hours you get used to that look. The environments are pretty open, and in that respect lack some details we've seen in the 2D parts of this series. But keep in mind this game was the first 3D installment, and they were feeling their way through. Nothing ever feels overly long or drawn out to make the game longer or anything. The battle graphics are also quite good. Animations of people and monsters are well drawn, and the special effects for the time are top notch and what you'd expect from the series.
Music - It's great, plain and simple. It all fits the regions you travel. The tracks are varied but with an overall feel that you're in the same world and all that. The sound effects in battle are also quite good, and what you'd expect if you've played the series before.
Story - Some would argue the most important part of any good RPG. I agree. The story is very, very good. It centers around three characters for the first three chapters, and each of them have several supporting characters. It lives up to the Suikoden name in every way. War torn nations, politics, superstions, racism, underdog heroes that come from unexpected places, and the 108 characters you can recruit to gain all the power of the Stars of Destiny. Halfway through the title (or a little over) you will have played as FOUR characters with unique perspectives and interlocking storylines from the different nations, and then they will all come together. This is where the story and gameplay really pick up, and the stakes get very high as you form an alliance. You must forge brotherhood among one another and press on against a powerful and mysterious nation. You must unravel the secrets of an immortal fire magic wielding hero, and of the True Runes that govern the lives of all characters in every Suikoden title. From there, you'll discover another two characters to play as if you unlock all 108 stars. There are some great guides you can find out there that will assist you. The game is very long, for some lasting up to 80 hours (me) as you try to upgrade many of the character's weapons, armor, and skill points for the final battles. And yet, for an RPG, it's not overly complicated. Most areas and battles are fairly linear. How to gain most of your characters would also be interpetted as fairly simple by most rpg veterans of any kind. But the heart of the story, and the backbone of your characters, is what truly makes the title shine.
Gameplay - Another important part of an rpg title. The gameplay is slightly over average to the veterans of the series or of any rpgs. For new comers, it'll be just right to learn. Although, some newcomers may find a few spots overly difficult without leveling up and gaining alot of money first. But for most, this will be done with ease once you learn how the world works. See, you travel from story point to point (revealed by your characters of course) by traversing field maps and town areas. The field has random encounters with monsters of ALL kinds. They vary in power and look by region. In town areas, you can upgrade armor and weaponry, gain magic, and in some places upgrade physical and mental skills through bujutsu instructors and tutors. This is a new aspect of the game in this series. It won't be seen again until Suikoden V either. I liked it very much. As you battle, you can skill points. In towns or your fort, you can upgrade them via the instructor (physical power and abilities) and the tutor (magic abilities). Some characters have natural abilities in say, fire magic, or say, multiple hits with their quick blades. These characters can truly shine with the right training, and the game will tell you who is best at what. But you *can* just ignore that and upgrade whatever you want, if you're willing to gain the extra skills to do so. But some characters naturally cut off at certain areas, while in those they excel in they go way up in rank eventually. Basically it's the bread and butter of the gameplay, you do fields/dungeons, then you hit towns to buy items or what have you, and repeat. In between, and in most fields/dungeons, you'll discover powerful monsters that appear on screen rather than as random battles. These are another new aspect to the series, Treasure Bosses. They're usually at your level though near the end they'll be stronger for a time. You kill them for tons (and I mean, TONS) of money, and rare/good items for your level. And the best part is, they'll respawn within 30 minutes or an hour in real life time. So add that to your routine and you'll have found the meat of the gameplay. There are also one on one character duels, and large scale battles with armies, just like in the other games in the series. The duels are the same for you vets, as for the newcomers, you'll get the hang of it fairly quickly. An enemy makes a remark (usually hinting at the attack they'll use) and then you use a paper rock scissors system to figure how you'll retort. Attack beats defense, desperate (power) attack beats regular attack, and defense clobbers desperate attack. Also, a difference this time around, the battle can go with or against your favor depending on how well you start it out. Meaning you'll get "free" hits or no penalties for a mistake, if things go your way. If they go against you, you'll take extra damage and have no room for mistakes. In the battlefield stuff with armies, new things can be found for vets and newcomers alike. You basically shape the teams yourself, using the 108 Stars you gather. So in this game more than ever it's very important to have them all or as many as you can get at the time. You'll also want to level up EVERYone, and upgrade all the weapons and armor you can on these people, as they're ALL participating in battles, something new to the series. The early ones serve more as a learning mode, most of which you either can't win, or simply have to survive a certain amount of turns. They are advanced tactics the game can teach you (such as support on field), and then there are high stakes where if you lose no teams you gain special items at the end (war spoils). Don't expect anything major here (like Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem calibur stuff), but in itself the battles are fun and simple (usually). By the end game you'll have tons of powerful people, and you'll be expected to win all the battles, usually without a loss (seeing as a loss can sometimes get one of the people you have killed, meaning you won't gain the good ending or all the Stars).
In the end, this game relies heavily on the story. If you don't like it or the characters, you probably won't want to stick the whole way through. I heartily recommend playing the entire series in order. With Suikoden II save data you'll gain some neat extras. Anyhow, you'll quickly become addicted to spending skill points, killing treasure bosses, and progressing this wonderful storyline. There is a degree of customization here as well. I gave this game a five star rating for it's time. By today's standards it might have degraded to a four star. If you pick this up and a ready for a long haul, you'll get what you put into this beautiful title.
~lastfirstborn (writing for Shelia)
A True Gem February 16, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Suikoden 3 is a unique experience. 3 main characters, 108 stars of destiny, and a ton of content. All of the Suikoden games are full of surprises, memoriable characters, and awesome combat. Suikoden 3 is the first and maybe the last Suikoden game to feature the intuative three main character system (Tri-Flame, I think it was called, although there was 1 optional side-story, his name was Thomas, and one hidden character.
I only recently beat Suikoden 1 and 2, but I've played them all (4 ans 5 included, both beaten), but this is the one I can't finish. It will always reign as the game I never beat.
Get it, seriously.
 If Only This Were a Book....... November 2, 2006
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
Suikoden III is the type of game where one can not help but think it was created in the wrong medium. If this were a book, it would be perfect. Easily an epic novel that belongs on any fantasy fan's shelf. As a videogame, its interactive parts fail to rise to the level of its engaging storyline.
The story is actually told from three perspective with two others you can unlock. The merchant kingdom of Zexen is at war with the Grasslanders, a tribal people who live a more primative life out on the plains. Watching these events is a powerful empire to the East. Just as a peace deal is about to be negociated, Chris, the leader of the Zexen Knights, seemingly assasinates the leader of one of Grassland tribes. The only problem is that she, as one of the playable characters, didn't do it. The war begins anew. In the heat of battle, a young Grasslander named Hugo vows to find the Firebringer, the legendary hero that saved the Grasslanders from certain defeat many years ago. Watching all from the sidelines is Gaddeo, a cynical mercenary who would rather not become involved in any of it. It is a very good story, with many twists. However, to really tie everything together you must collect all 108 playable characters to unlock the villian's perspective as a bonus after the game.
The game really falters when you actually have to play it. The battle system is Suikoden is terrible. Magic takes forever to use, and only a few characters can use it with any reliability. Six characters are allowed on a the field at once, but every character is paired with another and they function as a team. That means if you pick one character to use a command other than attack, you have absolutely no control over the other character. Also characters can only move forward so much per turn and have to be close to the enemy before attacking. With so many characters on the field is easy for one team to block the other teams from getting to the enemies. Everything is just so chaotic and out of the control, that it bearly felt like I had any control at all.
The actual world map is really small. Instead of being global in scale, the story is confined to one small region. The story requires that you run back and forth between only a few places. As you cross the plains and mountains, as you go from city to city, you'll begin to really hate all the random battles.
Suikoden III is game I can only wish was better than it was. The story was excellent, but the gameplay was terrible. Such a shame. Such a shame.
a small step in the wrong direction October 6, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was an avid fan of the Suikoden series going into this game (namely one and two), so i was teeming with anticipation with the series debut on the PS2. This game is far from a disappointment, it has beautiful scenery, great character designs, a varied character lineup, and a very intriguing story that makes good use of characters from previous games. I was spellbound when I first started diving into the game and couldn't wait to play it again when i stopped to eat. However, this excitement took a back seat ride when I discovered a severe flaw in the game's makeup.
This absolutely stunning piece of video game art is the victim of a very poor attempt at innovation. Anyone familiar with either of the previous two Suikoden games knows that the battle system functions on a six character formation (front and back row, 3 character each). This allows you full control of all six charcters, and the dynamics of character functionality changes depending upon where they are. If two characters that are friends, have a past experience with each other, or simply have similar fighting styles are placed near each other they can perform combo moves that can either be hokey or completely devastating. Combo maneauvers are not limited to just 2 characters either. This setup gave the player a great deal of option for attack and placed a great emphasis on stategic formations of characters.
The problem with Suikoden 3 is that they kept the 6 character formation, but eliminated the ability to control all six characters independantly of each other. The battle system in this game operates on controlling rows as opposed to characters. if you choose to have your row attack then they will both attack. if you choose for someone to cast a spell then that one person will cast a spell and the other character will attack a random enemy. This does not sound like a lot, but when you add in the difficulty of some of the battles in this game you will be fuming. This poorly designed setup makes it difficult to even kill some groups of random enemies, which will make powering up an experience you will altogether not want to do. This has forced some people I know to stop playing the game because it's incredibly frustrating. If two rune users are in the same row then only one can cast a spell at a time, this gives you 3 commands to issue among six characters, which automatically makes your battle efficiency 50% right from the get go. It doesn't make that much difference in the first few steps of the story, but when you get to spots where carefully maneuvering your group in battle becomes crucial, you'll find yourself playing the same battle over and over and over again trying to figure out how what went wrong.
Those that have braved one of the most frustrating RPG gameplay screwups (the most frustrating easily being Xenosaga 2), have found an amazing game with a luscious story to entertain even the veterans of such games. This is a good purchase, but beware, it requires a great deal of patience. I suggest playing this game with your room locked so people don't barge in to see why you're swearing at the television.
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